Sunday, May 6, 2012

One More Thing

Lisa was my mid day physical. A new patient, I eyed her cautiously as she walked through the door. She was a youngish looking thirty something. She wore a bag slung over her right shoulder which no doubt carried a computer. Her left hand clutched what appeared to be a few inches of computer printouts. I mentally rolled my eyes. It was not that I didn't like my patients well informed, I was just hoping to get through the physical without spending hours undoing whatever calamity her Internet search had produced.

My fears about Lisa faded quickly. She was respectful and to the point. The interview and exam flowed smoothly. Of course there was some issues here and there, but we talked through each without confrontation. She accepted my suggestions with minimal push back. I glanced at the printed pages on the desk as I finished my notes. They were just far enough away for me to be unable to make out the typed words.

I waited for a moment for Lisa to ask any other questions. I couldn't help but wishing every new patient was like her. Smart, organized, and ready to listen. When she assured me that there were none, I got up to leave and reached for the door knob. And that's when the feared bomb dropped.

Oh...Dr. Grumet, one more thing. I wanted to show you this!

I turned to find her thrusting the ream of papers towards me. I moved forward hesitantly and accepted the package with feigned indifference. I scanned the top of the page.

In My Humble Opinion

It was my blog. She handed me a copy of my most recent blog posts. I looked up to find Lisa smiling.